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Today I was contacted by a German gentleman regarding this car found in a showroom in Dusseldorf.
Nice the see a SAMMIO surrounded by some very expensive marque.
I'm sure it's one built by Dave in his Poole workshop.
I am also sure the price tag will up-set the trolls again.
On the plus side, I informed him I could build him one for half the listed showroom price and he's now coming over next week for a chat.
As for building one for half the price, assuming you mean you'd charge the customer around £11,500 and would be in profit yourself, you'd barely be making minimum wage for your time. The customer would probably export it to Europe then sell it on for twice what he paid for it anyway.
There are people out there with deep pockets for classic replicas - Suffolk Sports Cars' stand was swamped with toffs at Goodwood, while the maker of the Aston DBR1 replicas is also trading very nicely in the £70-120k bracket, then there's these:
Looking at the picture, the front indicators are certainly not symmetrical, in fact the whole front looks as if it isn't symmetrical. Having read what Paul L bodyshell had to go through to knock it into shape, I think anyone starting a Sammio has to be very brave.
Would need to knock a "0" off the price for me, compare it to the car Smash sold last year, his black 250. The Formosa looks a much better bet as the shell is far better finnished.
Not meaning to piss anyone off, just my opinion.
I was a bit worried that my 250 TR would be knocked in value because I have fitted the "wrong" engine. The two Maserati's listed above have shown that won't matter too much as they both feature Chevrolet V8's and are on the pricey side.
With regard to Sammio body I would say that a little mis match from side to side is quite acceptable. If you take a tape measure to most cars of that era, the hand built cars in particular, most will show variations.
Looking at the picture, the front indicators are certainly not symmetrical, in fact the whole front looks as if it isn't symmetrical. Having read what Paul L bodyshell had to go through to knock it into shape, I think anyone starting a Sammio has to be very brave.
Would need to knock a "0" off the price for me, compare it to the car Smash sold last year, his black 250. The Formosa looks a much better bet as the shell is far better finnished.
Not meaning to piss anyone off, just my opinion.
A few quick points from me…
- I think the front indicators are just a trick of the camera angle, as all the photos I’ve seen of other Sammio builds from Dave/Bisto34 have been top quality cars.
- Remember that I had the rarer Sammio Cordite model, not this Sammio Spyder version.
- Compared to the DNA asking prices, I think Smash should have sold his for more, especially with the bumpers.
- Agreed the Formosa is higher quality, but Chris’s one on Ebay is the equivalent of €43k, so significantly more.
- If you think the correct price should be €2,550 then you must be ‘aving a laugh.
domestic equipments
vehicle description
This triumph Sammio reminds by its appearance on one of the most famous racing cars from the 60 's: The Shelby Cobra 289! That was it! This Triumph Sammio has been made in a small series based on a Triumph Herald and looks like a daring historic race car. But he is not! The engine has a pure 1296ccm and is therefore in small four-cylinder and no beefy eight-cylinder. But no matter! This sports car looks good and is very sporty despite its small engine! A nice leisure time for the garage and the country road.
Couldn't have put it better myself! Well, perhaps I could've...
this dealer is well known for its "special" prices
only people with "thumbs on all fingers" or total amateurs are buying there.
the triumph and kitcar community in germany is already warning to buy this car for that price.
update:
car is now advertized for 18.500 euro
does not really look serious if dealers play-up with prices in a region of ~35%
at beginning of year 2018 the importer (a dealer in south germany) has tried to sell the car at least 3 times via ebay...no success...and now another dealer is trying...450km further north ...with the same success...none.
Absolutely agree with Rochdale here, E18,500 is a ridiculous price.
If they really want to sell it they should advertise it for double that and hold out for a buyer for whom that's a very modest sum of money for a weekend car, and who appreciates the beauty, style and WOW! factor they're getting for not a lot of Euros.
Well done, Rochdale, thanks for raising the pricing issue. Again.
see what yoo get for 18000euro. (an original lotus seven, 2 westfield seven, a TVR griffith or cerbera, a perfect lotus europa, 2.5 lotus excels in good condition, 3 relant scimitars in mint condition)...and than compare it with such a sammio, botched together in a shed from a private builder ...with a "tricky" suspension (rear), a poor performing engine.....for that money it must not only "look" good...it must perform well (there are several spacialists whoare able to bring some horsepower even into a triumph engine) and the condition must be spot-on....which this car is far away from!!!
see what yoo get for 18000euro. (an original lotus seven, 2 westfield seven, a TVR griffith or cerbera, a perfect lotus europa, 2.5 lotus excels in good condition, 3 relant scimitars in mint condition)...and than compare it with such a sammio, botched together in a shed from a private builder ...with a "tricky" suspension (rear), a poor performing engine.....for that money it must not only "look" good...it must perform well (there are several spacialists whoare able to bring some horsepower even into a triumph engine) and the condition must be spot-on....which this car is far away from!!!
Saucer of milk for this one, wife must have run off in a Sammio with a big grin!
Aside from the quality and price debate, why oh why do people persist in dressing up a fifties shape in a sixties/seventies livery?! I know this is very much a personal gripe, but the Gulf colour scheme looks terrible on them! Harrumph!
I think it is one of the few colour schemes that you can get away with on a period car, simply because it is such a nice colour scheme.
It did cross my mind on my 250 but even I though a Forrd colour scheme on a BMW trying to look loke a fauxarri would be a bit much.
Would like to see a Tribute Cobra painted in that colour scheme.
Not a huge fan of Gulf colours on a 50's inspired car myself, but it really is down to personal taste and on that car it actually looks pretty good.
Thing is, you'd have to be a fairly serious motorsports enthusiast to recognise that the livery isn't right for the style of car, and to most people it's just going to look like a really cool and very old racing car.
One of the things I did with my Spyder was to fit a modern wireless, joking that it was there so I'd have something to listen to while I waited for the RAC to come and tow me home.
One pair of old chaps spent ages arguing about it: one said it was obviously an original, hand beaten aluminium racer that had survived in unmolested condition since the 50's, citing the patina on the paint as evidence of that (I'd sprayed it about a fortnight earlier).
The other insisted that it was obviously not original, but had undergone a recent and expensive restoration, citing the modern radio as evidence that its owner had added 'improvements' it didn't have in 1954. Both, however, agreed that a hi-fi has no place in an old racing car, which is one of the reasons that I removed it, but neither of them even considered that it might be a fibreglass special that the owner built himself.
I think my point is that this class of car is very much one that the owner can put their own stamp on, using non 'correct' colour schemes and detailing, and that Joe Public will still love the car despite it not conforming to the period rules that builders of replica Cobras, GT40's, C-Type Jags etc. feel they have to follow.
Sorry about the images not embedding properly, Photobucket problems today, I'm afraid.
I also find it hard to accept the asking price for these cars considering the underpinnings.
Take a look at a Marlin Cabrio or Sportster which in the case of the former can be had for less than half the price and it's a no brainer.
